Denis Shapovalov hit a wall named Rafael Nadal in his Australian Open quarter-final encounter, eventually losing in five sets 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and 3-6, Monday night to Tuesday.
The Canadian did not seem in the game in the first set, having been broken in the fourth game. He even seemed disoriented at the start of the second set, he who was first involved in a war of words with the referee of the match, before blaming his opponent for taking too long before serving.
Nevertheless, the 14th racket in the world was able to raise his game a notch, without however managing to worry the Spaniard, who occupies the fifth position of the ATP. He was finally broken in the seventh game, which turned out to be decisive.
The Canadian was warned to level the mark, but had to falter during the fifth and final round where the Spaniard was decisive.
The problems of “Shapo” with the balls in hand were felt, he who only converted 25% of his first balls. He also only won 58% of rallies when his first attempt was in play.
Moreover, Shapovalov had 20 aces against 5 double faults, while Nadal had 8 aces against 11 double faults throughout the match which lasted 4 hours and 10 minutes.
In the next round, whoever is trying to add a 21st Grand Slam title to his list will face the winner of the duel between Frenchman Gaël Monfils (20th) and Italian Matteo Berrettini (7th), Tuesday morning.